Giveaway and Release Info for A Gift of Time: An Old Russian Fairytale by Cyma Rizwaan Khan

Today I’m pleased to host Cyma Rizwaan Khan! Her new M/M story A Gift of Time: An Old Russian Fairytale will be out October 31st. Cyma’s been kind enough to offer a giveaway on this post for a free copy of the novella. Depending on how many people comment, there may be more than just one free copy up for grabs, so please read on to learn about the book and how you can win a copy or purchase it if you don’t win! I’m looking forward to reading this story, as it sounds right up my alley. Fairytales + historical fiction + technology theme + romance = intrigued Sara!

Blurb:

In nineteenth century Moscow, Nikolai is nothing but a slave but when he ends up falling for a Russian Prince named Alexander Shcherbatsky, things start to look up for once. Only the Prince knows that Nikolai is no ordinary serf. He is inventing a machine that has the potential to change the course of humanity. But when Alex’s family finds out that Alex and Nikolai are in love and have plans of eloping, they want to make sure that never happens.

Excerpt:

Moscow, 1845

Chapter 1

Nikolai was hungry. No, starving would be the appropriate word for a hunger such as this. He had been silly enough to spend the last of his savings on some apparatus he needed for the device—he hadn’t figured out a name for it yet, and sacrificing a meal for that purpose hadn’t seemed like a bad idea when his stomach was filled with all the rich food Alexander had treated him to, but now with his hammer hand trembling, and the tapping sounds of the train wheels grating on his brain, an entire day of hard work behind him and a lot more ahead, he was hungry.

Still, Nikolai tried to focus on the work at hand, tapping the long hammer at the iron, listening to the sound carefully, because his one mistake sure could result in an accident. He smiled when the Station Master approached him but the man didn’t even return the greeting, just passed him by without a word. A Station Master must know that he was better than some serf slaving away at his job, so why would he care enough to smile back? Soon, Nikolai told himself. Soon, he will be an inventor. The device might be unnamed as yet but names weren’t important. The world would have to recognize his true potential, just like Alexander did.

A moment of passion that had passed between them last night made way into his mind, replacing everything else and the memory of Alexander’s body on top of his own, passionate and warm in a cold as horrible as this, a small slice of heaven, right here on earth, it made the day and everything that still lay ahead, seem a little less dreadful. A smile broke out on his lips, as the memory of Alexander’s dirty words crept into his ears. Prince Alexander Shcherbatsky fucking a young serf in the middle of the night and speaking those words—if only the world had seen such a sight they would understand why Nikolai loved Alexander so much.

And then, as if being pushed off the pulpit right when he was about to receive an accolade, the awareness of the fact crept into the sensible side of his brain that what they were doing was truly against all laws of mankind, as well as religion, and that the world wouldn’t waste a single breathe in murdering them both if they ever found out of such a transgression, and it made him angry and it frightened him, made him feel like a firefly trapped in a jar on some faraway shelf that no one could reach. He almost wanted to cry and the need to see Alexander, to be with him and to just let it all out in front of him, became so persistent he felt his gut tighten.

But hours of work still lay ahead of him and he couldn’t even think about seeing Alexander for at least another day, because Alexander was preparing to leave. He tried not to think about the fact that Alex would be away for the next six months. And before these thoughts and the impossibility of seeing the love of his life started to eat at him, he started to think about how he could still go home and work on his device, and hopefully come up with a name.

We’ll keep it simple: leave a comment on this post with your email address so I can pass it along to Cyma to send you a free copy if you’re a winner! I’ll leave the giveaway open until next Monday at 11PM EST so that plenty of people will have time to enter for the chance to win. Good luck!

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About Sara Testarossa

Sara is a voracious reader who also loves to write. She has been writing stories for all of her adult life, and most of her childhood. She started out writing general fiction, moved on to M/F romance, and wrote M/M romance and erotica almost exclusively for years before writing her first F/F erotic romance. Her focus for many years was fanfiction, but she has gotten back to originals, thanks in no small part to partners’ and friends’ loving encouragement over the years.
She also enjoys beta-reading, editing, and recording fiction in audio form. Her hobbies include listening to many types of music, watching sci-fi and action shows and movies, and spending inordinate amounts of time wandering around online. She has a wonderful partner and several furbeasts of the feline and canine variety.
Sara’s creative endeavors are often limited by her being a spoonie with a full-time day job to pay the bills – not that writing/editing/recording can’t. That said, she’s extremely passionate about her work as a sex educator and retail worker, which is incredibly fun and rewarding.